


"It All Goes..."

by celticdreamz



Series: Everything's Changed [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-18 06:38:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2338790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celticdreamz/pseuds/celticdreamz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria visits Steve in the hospital after his swim in the Potomac.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"It All Goes..."

"I hate to say this, but you look like crap."

The teasing note in the familiar female voice had Steve opening his eyes. He had nodded off somewhere towards the middle of the fifth inning. Watching the Nationals vs. the Mets was far less stressful than turning it on one of the fifty channels replaying what had happened at the Triskelion. The fact that hospitals had TVs shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did.

"Maria," he gave her a lopsided smile, trying not to wince because of his busted lip.

Gone was the SHIELD issued uniform he'd last seen her wearing. Instead, she'd opted for something much more casual: dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, faded black t-shirt with the words "Guns N Roses" emblazoned across the front, well worn jeans with holes in the knees, and a pair of black Chuck All Star sneakers. His smile widened as she moved to sit on the bed next to him.

"How're you feeling?"

Steve was fairly sure she'd already gotten a full report from the doctor. Even if the man had tried to pull confidentiality, Maria probably would've bullied him into telling her anyway.

"I've been through worse," he replied with a shrug. "Should be back on solids tomorrow. How about you? You weren't hurt in all that, were you?"

"Nah," Maria shook her head. "Had some unfriendlies try to crash the party around the six minute warning, but they didn't even get a shot off."

"I'm impressed." It wasn't just lip service either. Steve knew that she could hold her own, and that had give him a peace of mind while he and Sam were trying to take out those helicarriers. "And I'm glad you're okay."

She smiled softly when his fingers wrapped around hers. "Fury offered me the job as Director of SHIELD."

Steve froze. "What did you say?"

"Thanks but no thanks," she answered. "I told him to give it to someone better. Someone who would run things the way they should be run."

"Any ideas on who?"

Now that all of SHIELD's secrets, including Project TAHITI, had been unleashed across the Internet, it was only a matter of time before he found out on his own. It was best he hear it from her.

"Coulson."

It took a few blips of the EKG until Steve spoke again. "Phil? Our Phil? But I thought…?"

"He was," she confirmed. "I hate what we did to him, but Fury wanted him back. I'd like to think he's okay after everything that happened, but there's no way of knowing."

"Is that why you turned down the job?"

Maria canted her head to one side. "Partly. That and I was tired of the pressure to keep everyone on this planet safe. Plus I wanted an actual life."

A hopeful expression crossed Steve's face. "What are you going to do now…?"

"First, I'm going to take some much-needed R-and-R before I start my new job," she smiled. "You are looking at Stark Industries' new VP of Logistics. At least, that's the official title."

"What's the unofficial one?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Head of privatizing world security," she smirked. "Or, as Tony puts it, The Person In Charge Of Getting Shit Done."

"I thought that was Ms. Potts," Steve quipped.

"No, she's The Person In Charge of Putting Up With Tony's Shit. Big difference."

They both shared a laugh. It felt good to laugh after everything that had happened. SHIELD was in ruins. Hydra was now out in the open, and Steve was still on this side of the grave.

"So, have you changed your mind about being my girl?" he asked softly.

"What?" His question obviously caught her off guard.

"I distinctly remember you telling me why you didn't want to date anyone, including me," he said. "And now that you've walked away from SHIELD, those reasons don't exist anymore. So, what do you say? Want to give this 'us' thing a try?"

"Steve, I…"

"I hope you say 'yes', if only to save me from Natasha's continuing attempts at playing matchmaker."

A guilty look flickered in Maria's eyes. "That was my idea. I was hoping you'd get interested in someone else and then I'd be off the hook."

"Why…?"

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Because I'm too screwed up, too broken, and you deserve someone better."

"Maria, I'm not going to let you give up on us that easily." Steve's tone, though gentle, brooked no argument.

"Why?" she couldn't help asking. "Why me?"

It took Steve a few seconds to reply. "The short answer is that I guess I'm attracted to strong, beautiful women who can hold their own when the going gets tough."

"So, why not Romanoff?"

"I didn't want to get between her and Clint," he answered, shaking his head. "They've got a good thing going, and besides. She's not you."

"But what about--"

"Maria." This time Steve's tone was more stern. "You could name every available, female agent at SHIELD, and I'd still turn them down. Just ask Natasha. She's already tried."

"I still don't understand. Why me…?"

"Because I think you're pretty darn special," he answered and ran a thumb along her strong jaw.

It was clear from the stunned look on her face that it had been a long time since anyone had told her they thought she was special. That didn't sit well with him, and Steve promised himself to remind her just how special she was until she finally started believing it.

"Steve…"

"Please say yes," he cut her off. "Please say you'll be my girl."

It was a huge leap of faith for her. Several long, silent minutes ticked by before she swallowed thickly before speaking.

"I don't know how to be anyone's girl," Maria admitted softly. "I just can't comprehend someone, anyone, giving that much of a shit about me."

Steve was struck dumb. When he'd first let slip to Natasha that he was interested in Maria as more than just a boss or a friend, the former Soviet super spy had handed him a copy of Maria's complete personnel file with instructions not to let anyone know he had it. In those pages, he learned just how hard she'd had it growing up without a mother and living with an abusive father. After getting expelled from her Catholic high school in Chicago, she'd then been sent to a military academy for young ladies. Again, probably not the most loving of environments. Then, she'd gone on to West Point and then the Marine Corps before ending up with SHIELD. She'd had more training to be a soldier than he'd ever imagined.

"More people care about you than you give them credit for, Maria," he said after a long moment. "Just look at Tony. I know he can be a challenge sometimes, but he was the first to offer you a job, right?"

"A job and an apartment," Maria admitted with a wry look.

"An apartment?" he echoed. "Where?"

"The Tower. Where do you think?"

That brought a smile to Steve's injured lips. "Then I may have to take him up on his offer."

"What are you talking about?"

"After New York, Tony set aside apartments for all the Avengers, including me," he responded. "But I decided to move to DC instead."

His reasons for doing so went without saying. "You do realize that your apartment here isn't exactly yours."

"I kinda figured that," Steve replied with a sarcastic half smile. "I guess another bonus of you moving into the Tower is that I still get to look forward to running into you when I'm there."

And the invisible gorilla in the room reared its ugly head once more. "Steve, I don't know--"

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't exactly know how to be anyone's fella," he interrupted. "Bucky gave me some advice, but that was back when…"

"Are you still going to look for him?"

"I have to," Steve nodded.

"I'll help as much as I can."

"I can't let you do that. You just started a new job with Tony--"

"I didn't say I'd go with you," she cut him off. "I just said I'd help. If I find any intel on him, I'll pass it along."

"Okay," he nodded finally. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"Steve…"

"Look, Maria, I don't want to pressure you, but I also don't want you to give up on the idea," he said, changing tactics. "I just want you to think about it for awhile. I'm going to have my hands full trying to track down Bucky and bring him in. I was just thinking it'd be nice to have someone to go out to dinner or to the movies with once in awhile. Nothing big. Nothing serious."

When she closed her eyes and sighed, Steve knew he had her on the ropes. He'd pushed for too much too soon, but he'd done that on purpose. The compromise was the endgame. Sure, he would've been over the moon if she'd agreed to go steady with him right off the bat, but it also would've surprised the hell out of him.

"Y'know, Sam once asked me what made me happy," Steve continued. "I told him that I didn't know. I lied. Spending time with you is what makes me happy."

Maria snorted softly and shook her head. "Why'd you lie about it?"

"I dunno." He let his head drop back onto the pillows. "Guess I've been hanging around Natasha too long."

"Well, here's a protip for you: leave the lying to the spies and assassins. The truth coming from you is much scarier than any lie they can come up with."

"Oh yeah?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "For example…?"

"Hey, it was your idea to completely knock over HYDRA's house of cards, and broadcast it over open channels."

"What can I say? I've never liked bullies, and having one show up that I thought was dead and buried? I guess that just pissed me off."

Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "That's some pretty strong language coming from you."

The teasing barb hit home and he laughed softly. "Saying stuff like 'golly gee whiz' just doesn't have the same impact it used to, and the guys in my unit back in the day weren't shy about swearing. I think I'd heard more four-letter words in my first day there than I had my whole life. But I still tried not to talk like that around the ladies."

"I think 'lady' is probably the last word anyone would use to describe me," Maria snorted. "And I was in the Marines. There's not a whole lot I haven't already heard, and probably even less I haven't said at one point or another."

"I know," Steve smirked. "I just happened to be outside your office one day when you were calling someone on the carpet. By the time you were done, I felt about two inches tall and I wasn't even in the same room."

"And that's why I think you need a psych eval," she replied sarcastically. "Because you have to be certifiably insane to want to go out with someone like me."

"Maria, you need to stop selling yourself short," he argued. "You're beautiful, intelligent, loyal, and I really want to get to know you better."

"What if you don't like what you find?" It was a very blunt question, couched as though she was talking about a mission objective.

"Let me worry about that," Steve answered. "You just think about where you'd like me to take you on our first date."

"You're impossible to say 'no' to, you know that?" she rolled her eyes.

"I've been told that once or twice," he smirked. "I think Dr. Erskine called it 'persistence'. If there's something I want, I usually go after it until I get it. Took me five tries, but I finally got into the Army."

"Meaning that you're not going to stop asking me out until I say 'yes'."

"Pretty much."

Maria rolled her eyes and shook her head. A tiny hint of a smile crossed her lips. "You're an idiot."

"I've been told that, too," he chuckled, and scooted over on the bed to make more room for her. "C'mon, let's see if this thing has a decent movie channel."

Steve wasn't sure what surprised him more: finding a station that had just started an airing of Casablanca, Maria tucking herself against his side, or the fact that she'd fallen asleep less than twenty minutes into the movie. All in all, he could think of much worse places to be at the moment, and wasn't about to knock it. Not knowing what else to do, he simply wrapped an arm around her and settled in to watch one of his favorite flicks.

 


End file.
